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Large kitchen/living room - mapped out thoughts - what would you change?

G
Total noob here.
Rough draft blueprint:



There's three sweet spots in my living room (green 😵.
Was thinking of positioning the two Play:5s and four Play:1s as shown.
Tried to get 3.0 in each of the sweet spots.

Curious what you guys think, and what if anything you'd change?

BIG thank you!
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Best answer by gdsrwq421 9 May 2017, 21:56

We do already have exist 5.1 in Family room.
Four ceiling spkrs (light purple circles) and a Definitive soundbar (purple rectangle) in top right corner all connected to a 10 yr old JVC receiver:



Just want make it as easy to use for 70 yr old parents.
Original thinking keep Sonos vs home theatre separate so no need to fidget with receiver - simpler to use.
Maybe I'm wrong - would love your suggest.

Thx!
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27 replies

Stuart_W
Userlevel 7
Badge +21
Assuming that the music you will be listening to has been mixed in stereo, and the vast majority is. You will get the best listening enjoyment, as the artist intended, by listening using a stereo pair - that could be Play 5s, Play 3s or Play 1s.

I don't really know how your set-up would sound but you would have to set each speaker as a "Room" and then group them. They would play in perfect synchronisation but there would be no stereo image and I think the overall effect would be disappointing.

I would be advising you to determine where you would be for "serious" music listening and ensure that you provide the best audio for that area - probably a stereo pair of Play5s. For areas where the listening will be more causal - say the kitchen area probably a Play 1 or possibly stereo pair of Play 1s which you could then group to the Play 5s as desired.

Also. There's nothing stopping you growing organically rather than buying all those Plays at once - Don't forget Sonos run a very good return policy so you can effectively try and then return if they don't do what you want
Playbar + Sub + 2 x Play 1/ Stereo Play 3s/ Play 1 Stereo in Kitchen, Play 1 in Bedroom, Study & Bathroom, Sonos One in Conservatory
K
I think you have far too many speakers here. I would just use a 5 pair on the right hand side, assuming that is the living room and you will sit facing the speakers on the 15 ft wall. If facing to the top, I would put the 5 pair there and nothing in the bottom right corner.

Assuming the left side to be the kitchen - where is the dining area? - I would put either one 5 or one 1 such that it is aimed to that listening area, maybe even along the wall on the left. Maybe start with one 1, and add another to make a pair if the need for that is felt.

See how that works, and then add more speakers only if felt necessary. Play the paired speakers in stereo mode, and group the pair and the other single unit/pair when music is needed over the entire space.
A
Depends rather where your furniture and listening positions are, but the previous replies are good advice, IMHO
K
Userlevel 4
Badge +4
I would start with 6ea play1 and go from there. Add in pairs as you feel there are gaps in sound coverage. This way you can play part of or all of the room as you need. The play 1 is on sale right now. - Kris 🙂
K
Userlevel 4
Badge +4

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U
The original drawing makes good sense if you are thinking of the 5s mainly as bass reinforcement but the fact that they are full range will mess up the stereo image and not create the sweet spots as intended. Consider placing 4 Play1s along the top wall in the drawing plus a sub someplace near the center of that wall. This will give you your 3 stereo points (Middle image reversed) plus enough low end for the whole room.
Local music library with carefully constructed playlists - no shuffling!, Integration with Homeseer Automation, No touch screen devices, No streaming services, No Apple products ever
K
Userlevel 4
Badge +4
Mike is right and I forgot about a sub.
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G
Thought I might if lucky get one reply.
Shocked - in the best way possible - that you guys gave me so much support.
Huge THANK YOU - totally made my day.

Read, re-read all suggest.
Revised map incorporating them with some add'l info:



Added green heads showing most likely directional facing.
Don't think I have good place for subs. But if really much better, can maybe find somewhere.
Hoping can get away with no sub, but still get moderate bass - maybe Play 5s vs 1s wherever you suggest?
Some of you suggested less spkrs. Given facing direction - if any, which you'd remove?

Thank you!
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G
To more easily refer to each spkr, I added position #s in red (1-8):



Thank you!
G
We do already have exist 5.1 in Family room.
Four ceiling spkrs (light purple circles) and a Definitive soundbar (purple rectangle) in top right corner all connected to a 10 yr old JVC receiver:



Just want make it as easy to use for 70 yr old parents.
Original thinking keep Sonos vs home theatre separate so no need to fidget with receiver - simpler to use.
Maybe I'm wrong - would love your suggest.

Thx!
U
I have done it both ways... some rooms video sound and Sonos are separate systems. Others I use a Connect to feed an A/V receiver. It's all a balance of "ease of use" vs. clutter vs. cost. You are thinking about the right things to get to the answer that is best for your situation.

I still think you have too many speakers for that size space. How about eliminating positions 2 and 7? The sub could be bonded to the 3/6 pair and placed near position 6. You can always add more if that is not enough but I think it would be.
Local music library with carefully constructed playlists - no shuffling!, Integration with Homeseer Automation, No touch screen devices, No streaming services, No Apple products ever
K
If you are happy with the sound you get for TV, keeping things separate is the way to go.

My suggestions:
1. Position 4 and 5 - a 1 pair if you can find a place for position 4 given the sound bar that is kept there.
2. Position 1 and 8 - a 1 pair with a Sub placed between the two, or, a 5 pair
3. One 5 unit - in the centre of positions 6 and 7, facing the dining area

Note that Sonos speakers play clearer at loud volumes that what their sizes suggest.
K
Userlevel 4
Badge +4
This is why I suggested starting with 6 play 1 and adding from there. I would add in pairs though. I would definitely start with 4 in the kitchen and go from there towards the family room. I would put a sub in the kitchen facing towards the dining room. 40ft is a long room. - Kris 🙂
K
Userlevel 4
Badge +4

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G
Thanks guys!
G
Thanks guys!

Forgot that fridge blocking Position 8 (bottom left corner).

Updated map (revision 3):



Thinking of setting up three zones.
Zone 1 (top-upper-left Play 1s)
Zone 2 (bottom-middle Play 5 - used for bass support)
Zone 3 (right-side Play 1s)

That way..
When in kitchen group: Zone 1 & Zone 2
When in dining area group: Zone 1 & Zone 2 & Zone 3... or just use Zone 2
When in family room area group: Zone 2 + Zone 3

... or...

Can do this map (revision 4):



What do you guys thinks?

Also, only place can put dedicated Sonos sub would be Position 4 (upper right corner).
Would you suggest worth it to put sub there, or skip?

Thank you!
K
My vote is revision 3 and skip the Sub. Note that the 5 will not really provide bass support across the entire space, but will do so in zones 1 and 2. I think you should be fine with this. If a basshead, you can think of Sub later, but the place you have for it isn't ideal. Cross that bridge if it comes.
K
Userlevel 4
Badge +4
Well, the only other thing I can think of is put a play1 on top of the fridge. I did this in my kitchen. Sounds great. And then put a sub on the left side of your diagram facing the dining room. Then 2 play1 instead of the play5 in the dining room. Put them across the room from each and not on the same side. Other than that I agree with Kumar and vote for revision 3. -Kris
melvimbe
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
You mentioned 70 year old parents...is this their home or yours? What are they currently comfortable with as far as controlling the audio in your 5.1 system?

Just some thoughts...
- You may want to look into getting a connect AMP that can utilize your ceiling speakers. You can probably get a switch so that your ceiling speakers can switch between sourcing from the AMP or the JVC. If you don't really care about tv sound through the speakers, then you won't need to worry about it.
- You could get a connect linked to your JVC, but that's going to require input switching on your JVC. Maybe too complicated for your parents.
- I think a playbar/playbase would be a pretty good option. Switching between tv sound and music is pretty seamless. If your parents can select the music source for sonos, then there should be no issue with this. Additionally, you'd be able to play tv sound across all the zones. The downside is that you wouldn't be using your ceiling speakers.
- You mentioned 2 glass doors, is that to a private backyard? If so, you could get a connect AMP to power outdoor speakers. Perhaps you try the first setup I mentioned, then switch to outdoor speakers if it doesn't work out.

I would agree though, it's better to start small and build up. That's probably the most important thing you can do. If you are new to sonos, it might be good just to buy a pair of play 1s for the kitchen and see how you like it, how your parents handle it. You'll also get a better idea of where you need more sound in the dining area.
Danny
U
Revision 3 looks like it will work nicely for what you need. Makes sense to hold off on the sub for now. You can always add it to position 4 at a later time if you feel you need it.
Local music library with carefully constructed playlists - no shuffling!, Integration with Homeseer Automation, No touch screen devices, No streaming services, No Apple products ever
K
If you are new to sonos, it might be good just to buy a pair of play 1s for the kitchen and see how you like it, how your parents handle it. You'll also get a better idea of where you need more sound in the dining area.
Good suggestion, I agree. And play around with them in different places and see how they sound. Be sure to do the Trueplay thing for each new location before making final decisions on sound quality.
G
Ok - I'll be going with revision 3.

Saved money - less spkrs/clutter.
Got a more intelligently designed setup.
Would have been lost without you guys.

Thank you!!
K
Don't hesitate to move units around to experiment to see what works best - with Sonos, that is easy to do and your ears in your home with your preferred music are the best judge of what is best. Remember to do the Trueplay tuning every time the speaker location is changed, for optimum results.
J
Badge
I agree with what was mentioned above, I highly encourage growing your Sonos organically and systematically. There is no reason why anyone should rush into anything. What I personally recommend is going with the PLAY:1's for now. Then TruePlaying the area - if you find out that you need more. Add in PLAY:5's. Listening experiences are obviously subjective - I suggest listening to a stereo paired PLAY:1's first then going up from there.
G
One more for you guys.
Unsure about best positioning for Kitchen and Family Room:



Will set everything up with TruePlay.
Which one you feel is best combo?

Thanks!

PS.
Was thinking top one might be good too because for Dining can then have Positions 2, 3, & 6 playing.

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